'Whole Foods + Amazon:' Prices drop on some popular staples after acquisition

29/08/2017

Batchelder, who works in public relations, said she usually buys groceries from Whole Foods and Roche Bros., but is rethinking that because of the cheaper prices.

Amazon's $US13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods, which won antitrust approval from USA regulators last Wednesday, has been a shadow hanging over an ailing brick-and-mortar retail sector unsure of how to respond to the world's biggest online retailer.

It seems the lower prices vary a bit by store (some stores are carrying lower-priced meats, for example, but we didn't see that at the Whole Foods in Riverdale Park on August 28.) Also, there are reports that some stores are carrying Amazon electronic products such as the Echo, but the store at Riverdale Park Station didn't appear to have any electronics on August 28. For instance, organic avocados were retailing for $1.99 each instead of the usual price of $2.79 while organic rotisserie chicken went for $9.99 instead of $13.99.

And in another hint at how the online giant plans to integrate its new network of stores with its current operations, banners started showing up to cross-promote other Amazon products. "After reading about them this morning, I stopped in", he said, "and nabbed those apples, organic avocados, and bananas".

"We're determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone", Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer, said in the announcement. When Bloomberg contacted them, Amazon refused to comment on the developments. The Detroit resident said he's found pricing to be fair.

Scott Mushkin, who covers grocery stores at Wolfe Research, recently said Whole Foods, on average, could be 15 per cent to 20 per cent higher than some rival grocers and is as much as 25 per cent more expensive at the extreme.

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